5 things last weekend entailed

1. ATLÉTICO
Atlético is the name of Rafaela's soccer team. Went with Thomas, saw Josh the kid from New Zealand, a few students...ate a choripan (chorizo is sausauge, pan is bread...and yeah it's just sausage on bread, but it's tasty) and watched the home team get the shit kicked out of em. great for the morale!

2. GETTING UP EARLY & THE DISSOLUTION OF A COLD
On Saturday I woke up at 10:30, and on Sunday I woke up around 11:45. Ok, not so early but I woke up both days before noon. This is improvement. Nonetheless, despite this scarcity of sleeping (for I put myself to bed at what you'd call normal weekend times), the little cold that had developed as a backlash to the previous rowdy weekend in Buenos Aires and sort of plagued my week managed to fade. I can't figure that one out.

3. DYLAN
Dylan's this pub in town I hadn't been to yet. We went Friday night after the game (around 11:30), had a pretty good time - didn't take long for 2 Argentine girls to sit down to absorb our company, and we talked with/poked fun at them for a few hours. Then Saturday night around 12:30 our friend Francisco's band was playing inside, and they did a tribute to the Foo Fighters, making me realize I know a lot more Foo Fighters music than I thought, and sorta like it too so it was all good. Also Josh was there Saturday, getting drunk for the 2nd time in his 15-year-old life, sitting with his host brother and his friends...we joined them and had some laughs. I was pretty buzzed and I sort of remember laughing at everything Josh said. I hope he didn't take offense.

4. BENEFIT DINNER & LA FRANCESA
On Saturday night I went out with the fam to this benefit dinner. As my host family are spiritists, and belong the local spiritist organization, Carlos was participating in this fundraiser, along with all the other applicable kids his age, acting as waiters. There was some salad and some bread and some meat - I kinda wanted to cut the bread in half and make a choripan but it would have been very very rude, and I wasn't sitting with my host family but with this early-20-something French girl who's been working in town as of last week, and some couple that was chatting her up. After our initial, standard introductions, which did last long enough, the French girl returned to the couple and was sort of directing her conversation at them, outside my scope of hearing. I was turned off, until I realized it was a very boring conversation anyway - the lady sort of stated that there was no snow or mountains in France, and an apalled Angelique eagerly filled her in; at another point the lady stated that French is only used in France anyhow, while Spanish--Angelique quickly informed the lady that French is used in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, all throughout Africa, Canada...etc. Then the husband brought up immigration in France, and in Germany and Spain, and Angelique gave her opinions on that. They would occasionally include my American point of view; during this immigration conversation, they concluded it by asking (sort of telling, though, almost, I mean they already know) me about the Mexican immigration volume. During their conversation about French cuisine, they concluded it by asking what kind of meat we eat in the US. Very lackluster questions. Then during the political discussion, the trite issue of George Bush. I've had these conversations with people plenty of times before and there's nothing wrong with them - but it is the kind of conversation you can have with one foreigner, and not with two. BUT no matter, there was food and wine and then the kids put on a traditional gaucho dancing show, which was enjoyable, directly after which the host father dropped me off at Dylan.

5. MOTHER'S DAY IN ARGENTINA
Is not until October, but I decided it'd be a good gesture to give Cristina something anyway. I gave her one of the Symphony's that were sent to me with the care package and she really, really loved it. I gave it to her around dinner so she shared it with everyone else too. I didn't have any so I actually have no idea how it tasted. I don't like Hersheys in general, but the Symphony line seems to be a bit better. In any case they ate it all up. During the day I had an asado (a grill) with the family - I'll get a picture, but it's basically a mountain of meat upon meat. They make some salad to accompany, but it takes a very minor accompanying role. I woke up just for this, so I was pretty tired but am comfortable enough with the family now not to really care. Then during the day, I rode my bike to Guido's house, hung out with him...showed him pics of Brazil, learned to play 2 chords on guitar, drank some Tang and mate (which later made me feel like throwing up). Then we went to play casín, which is a game like pool that his father was apparently almost the Argentinean champion of. Anyway I was feeling almost on the verge of vomit from the teteré (Tang + mate) by that point so I went home then, and stayed home while the family went to the grandfather's house (where they stayed from about 7:30 to 10:00...very glad I stayed home, seriously, I can't imagine spending the last hours of every Sunday night with the family I just had a long lunch with...it's something else).


^asado

And now...

It is 6:30 on a Monday, and I'm feeling lethargic. I'm going to Río in 10 days and can't wait. All the travelling, I can't wait. But my energy to keep doing the teaching thing, the "culture and language facilitator" thing, has just run out. We're watching Seinfeld in class tonight and I don't know for sure what else to say other than isn't this hilarious? And hope they agree. Whatever, I know it will be fine, it will be good and when I leave everyone will say I did a great job. I've just reached a restless point in time where you're ready to move onto the next leg.

Oh, and I haven't started tango lessons for lack of a teacher, though I know I could find one pretty easily...but it's been a while since I've been here already and the enthusiasm's sort of passed. The days of the Brazilian dance parties seem so far in the past, and I hate dancing anyway. I think the forest got into me.

Have you ever loved a September? I like the song Oh, September but realized today that I've never felt that sort of nostalgia for a single September in my life.

P.S.
The 5-item list is a trademark of my friend Adele, or Amanda as you may know her... for some more 5-item lists see justbecourageous.blogspot.com